Thursday, October 23, 2008

Post 28 - My Dad, A Humble Man and Bishop

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This
Post!

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TODAY'S THEME

These are my parents, Philip John Birch and Virginia Jensen Birch.

My very first blog was about them and particularly about my father's conversion to the LDS Church.

The following has been copied from that blog post. You are welcome to go down to the very beginning of my posts and read all that I wrote then. You will have to click on several different links labled "older posts" to do that. What you will now read is what I consider the most important part of what is in that first blog post.

Here is my excerpt: "From September 1929, basically, non-denominational Phil Birch (born in 1907) was steadily dating Virginia Jensen (born in 1904). Her parents and all of their family members were converted to the LDS Church in Denmark who then immigrated to Utah where her parents married.

"Virginia was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. After her mother died giving birth to a still-born baby, Virginia moved with her father and her three sisters to Sacramento, California where her father had been employed as a manager of a lumber yard.

"Phil was employed as an Southern Pacific Railroad crew dispatcher and Virginia as a telephone operator for that railroad. That is where they met.

"The following was written by Phil later in his life in his personal family history. 'They kept company, going steady. However, I (Phil) was unhappy because her Mormon Church activity meant so much to her.

'She gave me a Book of Mormon and told me the gold plate story about the Book of Mormon. I laughed and told her that it was a fairy tale and I didn't believe it.

"With tears in her eyes she asked me if I believed the story of Moses and the opening of the Red Sea and I answered, 'Yes.' I guess I learned that Bible story in the Christian Science Church. With tears in her eyes, she then said, 'why not modern miracles?"

"I read the Book of Mormon through, attended Sunday-School and other LDS Church meetings with Virginia, but was not converted. Also I KNEW that my mom would be unhappy if I did not try to join the Masonic Order at 21 years of age. Also I knew my mom, my sister, and my step-dad might not forgive me."

"At that time Art and Mom were not married, they were keeping company. On September 23, 1929, they were married in Reno and Virginia and Phil were married by Virginia's father, the LDS Church's Sutter Branch President, in their home at 1821 Q Street, Sacramento, California."

"Virginia gave up temple marriage for me and I knew the only way I would ever be happy would for "Virgie" to be happy. I also knew she would be unhappy if her church life was curtailed. I voluntarily told her I would never hold her back in her church work and activities, also that if she could get by with a 10% tithing cut, I could also, but I did not know how."

"She quit her telephone operator job September 25, 1929 and we were married on payday, September 26, 1929. We, or she, paid our tithing out of both checks and I have done so ever since."

"Early in July of 1930, or perhaps the last of June 1930, I woke up in the very early dark morning and it seemed like a voice had said out loud, 'Phil, you know the Gospel is true. Why are you not baptized?' I got out of bed and tried in vain to find the person whose voice I had heard. Virginia was sound asleep so I went back to bed and as I was 2/3 asleep and 1/3 awake I heard the same words again. I got up and when Virginia woke up I told her I would be baptized but I did not tell her this story."

"At any rate, on July 5, 1930, I was baptized and confirmed a member of the LDS Church and very soon I had the Aaronic Priesthood conferred on me and was ordained to the office of a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

"I have forgotten to mention that in September, 1932, Phil and Virginia, went to Salt Lake City and were sealed in eternal marriage in the Salt Lake Temple. Our seven month old son, Neil, was sealed to us."

"I was baptized on July 5, 1930, and on account of the depression, was moved in 1933 by the railroad. For almost two years I was away from Church activity in Dunsmuir, California."

"With the event of the '3 pint 1 beer' I drank a big bottle once in awhile with my old boyhood and railroad friend, Malbrook C. In 1934 when we arrived in Roseville to work there, that friend wrote me that he was coming to visit us. I went out and bought a big bottle of wine for him. This was to be social."

"However, something happened that changed me and our life."
"I was working midnight to 8:00 a.m. with days off in the middle of the week. I attended Sunday-School but Virgie always had to coax me to go there instead of going to bed."

'This Sunday morning, after quitting work, I said to Virginia, 'Let's go to Sunday School,' but she was staying home because Larry was sick. I surprised her and myself by asking her if I could take Neil to Sunday-School."

"It just so happened that it was the day the new LDS Sacramento Stake presidency had chosen to come to the Roseville Branch and organize it into a ward with Lorenzo R. as bishop."

"I do not remember what the speakers said, but I do know the Word of Wisdom (the LDS Church's revelation regarding the use of alcohol, tea, and coffee being not approved by the Lord, Jesus Christ) was not mentioned."

"I was impressed by the Spirit and with the sincerity of all who spoke. I went home and asked Virginia where my bottle of wine was and she told me. I guess I scared her because she thought I was going to drink it."

"Instead, I poured it down the sink, saying 'if those men can keep the commandments, so can I'. From then until now I have not taken or tasted or missed alcohol and from then on I had a desire to attend all church meetings and to keep the commandments."

"However, I was still working on Sundays because my railroad seniority would not allow me to have Sunday off. From that meeting until now I could and can say, 'I KNOW THE GOSPEL IS TRUE.' Before, it was a strong belief."

"With all my heart I know the restored Gospel is here with God's authority delegated to man to act in His name - the Priesthood."
Now here is Phil Birch's oldest son, Neil, back again to help you learn some things that may help you better understand the Lord's true religion better.

While I was in Finland serving my first mission there, my father was called by the Lord (through his properly called and set-apart authorities) to serve as bishop of the Roseville Ward. He had been a counselor in the bishopric for much of the time since they moved back to Roseville from Dunsmuir, California (which is near Mount Shasta in Northern California.)

It was a new and interesting experience being a son of our LDS ward's bishop. I enjoyed watching him do his bishop's job. I want to tell you about one particular circumstance where I learned something important about how the Lord guides his humble servants here on earth.

It was on a weekday evening and I was home from work. My father, who had just arrived home from his work, received a phone call from one of our ward youth leaders who told him, the ward bishop, that some of the youth of our ward were making strong complaints about how they were being treated by their youth leaders. This was at our weekly Mutual Improvement Association (M.I.A.) meeting that was taking place right then at our church building located about a quarter of a mile from our house.
Sometime after the initial call he received a second call from the same adult youth leader who told him that things had quieted down and that Dad's help wasn't needed.

I heard what my father had been saying over the phone. Then he was off of the phone and was telling me that he was told that things were OK now. Then all of a sudden he turned to me and said, "I need to get down to the church right now!"

As it turned out, just as he turned the corner near the church, (he walked fast) he saw some of the youth of the ward walking away from the Church and coming in his direction, heading toward the home of one of the youth who lived nearby, with determined looks on their faces.

My dad, a ward bishop who is entitled to the use of the power of Prophecy and Revelation that has been mentioned in recent blogs, arrived at just the right moment. He was able to get them to go over to the side of the road and tell him about their concerns.

It didn't take them long to talk things out and with the loving counsel of their inspired ward bishop, they were persuaded to go back into the church and talk things out with the adult youth leaders.

How can the Lord's work be done in His church if there is not the Gift of the Holy Ghost (which both the youth and their bishop possessed) to guide people through potentially serious problems.

The Prophet Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar's Dream in which a stone, cut out of a mountain without hands rolls forth and demolishes all other kingdoms. -by Grant Romney Clawson
Without the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is conferred upon all members of the LDS Church when they are baptized (at age eight for youth) how could the Lord guide His Church here on earth? As I re-read (in my father's family history above) his testimony about the Priesthood of God being so important to him, I can't help realizing that with over 13 million members and rapidly growing to over 14 million members in this Church today, that through the gift of Prophecy and Revelation (The Testimony of Jesus) and the gift of the Holy Ghost which is very closely related to that, the Lord guides His Church on a daily and even on a moment to moment basis.

In my blog post, Part 23 we learned about the remarkable prophecy made in King Nebuchadnezzar's dream about the stone, cut out of the mountain without hands, rolling down the mountain and growing in size until it struck the image that represents the kingdoms and empires of the world and then rolling on and growing until it fills the whole earth.

In that same blog post it was shown that the Lord Jesus Christ, with the help of an angel, prepared the way for the coming forth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through His young prophet, Joseph Smith.

In blog post 27 it was shown that the ancient prophet of God, Joseph, Who Was Sold Into Egypt, knew about the key role that Joseph Smith, Jr, would play in the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his descendants and to the rest of the House of Israel.
Why should the Lord have revealed that to Joseph Who Was Sold Into Egypt? Because it had to do with the spiritual welfare of his own posterity, his family!

Family is an eternal value! Because of the atonement and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we and our families can go on together after death forever through the blessings that come from the ordinances of God's holy temples. In a blog down the road some I will discuss the blessings that come to families through temple ordinances.

Having been an active member of this Church throughout my life, I have often seen clear evidences of God leading His Church, even in the smallest details, such as demonstrated in the account above regarding the Roseville Ward bishop, Phil Birch, being led to help some of his ward's youth avoid making some big mistakes that could have perhaps led some of them to leave the protection and preparation for life and eternity the Lord's church provides them.

Oh, I have one other memory of what my father told me about that he often did when he served as a bishop. He told me that whenever he felt inadequate, and that was often, when counseling ward members who had personal or family problems, including even marriage problems (he had never been to college at all but he did graduate from high school), he would often call up in his mind various Book of Mormon prophets, such as Nephi, Alma the Younger, and perhaps Mormon and Moroni, and imagine them being with him there as friends and colleagues. He told me he really could feel their support. It helped him to counsel by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That is good evidence that the Book of Mormon was a very important source of strength to my father, Philip John Birch. I sure love him and my dear mother, Virginia Jensen Birch, who first introduced her future husband to the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Oh, one more thing about my father's counseling as a bishop. He was released, after four years of serving as bishop of the Roseville Ward because the S.P. Railroad transferred him to the Sacramento Depot. That transfer made my parents decide to sell their home in Roseville where they had raised their first two boys. Their third son, Bruce moved with them to North Sacramento.

There were some ward members including several married couples who had been waiting for Dad, as their bishop, to counsel them regarding marital and other serious difficulties. Ward members had come to recognize Bishop Birch as an effective counselor. Dad's replacement as bishop was a wonderful man. I got to know him later. If I understand correctly, ward members really came trust their new bishop also.
However, because of the strong pleas of several ward members who had been waiting to be counseled by Bishop Phil Birch, the stake leaders requested my Dad to continue counseling those specific ward members he had been counseling and several others who had been waiting for him to counsel them.

In that capacity he was necessary for Dad to work very closely with the new bishop who had just recently moved into the ward. He and Dad became close friends.
After that list of ward members had been taken care of, Dad no longer assisted the new bishop by counseling ward members. The people Dad had been counseling had even travelled about thirty miles round-trip for that counseling, but they evidently thought it worth their while.

It was not my father's idea to continue counseling ward members after his release. It was the decision of the stake presidency. At that time Roseville and North Sacramento were both still in the Sacramento stake.

I give credit to the special Gift of the Spirit that LDS bishops are blessed with that brought about that special success during that interlude in his life of church service. I have to give some credit to Dad's practice of calling upon the help of specific Book of Mormon prophets mentally to feel the support he needed from the Lord.
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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: Birch, Philip and Virginia, Neil Birch and His Brothers', Larry and Bruce, Parents. - Post 28. When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch


This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Post 27 - The Three Josephs

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!


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TODAY'S THEME

Joseph, Son of Jacob, is Sold Into Egypt -by Ted Henninger
In this painting  Joseph, the 11th son of Jacob, (Israel), is being sold by his jealous brothers to traders for twenty pieces of silver.

These traders then took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officers, the captain of Pharaoh's guard."

Please Read this account of this Intriguing historical happening. You may want to Listen as well as read this: Genesis 37:1-36

Remember what you can of Joseph's dreams in that scripture you just read. His dreams indicated that Joseph would come to be like royalty of the highest degree. His telling of those dreams is what most likely caused his brothers to be jealous of him to the point that they were very desirous of "getting rid of Joseph."

I must remind you, however, that his oldest brother, Reuben, did not want his youngest brother harmed and when his plans to return him to their father didn't work out, Reuben was very upset. Reuben, you get high marks for that! You didn't always do what is right, but your intentions were right in this case.

Joseph Resists Advances Made by Potiphar's Wife -by Del Parson
If you have seen the popular musical, "Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat", you will have seen, with some alterations, the story of Joseph, Who Was Sold Into Egypt. Perhaps that musical has been produced in your country as well as in the United States of America. It has been very popular here.

Angry at Joseph for resisting her advances, this woman accused him of making advances on her. Potiphar had him imprisoned in the king's prison, a place where the king's prisoners were kept. Read about this in Genesis Chapter 39.

An additional scriptural account, (Genesis, chapter 41) tells us how Joseph, who was worthy to possess the gift of Prophecy and Revelation (or the testimony of Jesus), was brought, by the use of that gift, from the lowly status of a Hebrew slave and jail prisoner to becoming second in command over all of Egypt, just under Pharaoh.

Please go back to my blog Post 19 to review this spiritual gift: Prophecy and Revelation which has always been, and is still now, such a important part of God's work on the earth.

Through this spiritual gift Joseph had learned to use, God was able to lead him to the point where, as second in command to Pharaoh, Joseph was able to have the nation of Egypt fully prepared when a great famine struck all that part of the world including the land where his father, Jacob, and the rest of his family lived.

Many of you may have read in the Old Testament, the touching story of Joseph being reunited with his brothers and eventually with his father who had deeply, and for a long time, mourned the supposed death of his favorite son. (Please read, when you have time, Genesis Chapters 42 though 50.)

I'm sure you'll agree with me that seventeen year old Joseph's dreams about his family bowing down before him, were proven to be true. Those dreams had come to seventeen year old Joseph through the gift of God!
Lehi Preaching to Fellow Citizens of Jerusalem -by Del Parson

Now let's go back to the story of Father Lehi and his family which we touched on in Blog Post 26. Here again is the painting in which Lehi is preaching to others in Jerusalem.

Because unbelieving people in Jerusalem sought to kill Lehi, the Lord commanded him to take his family out of Jerusalem and would then lead them through the Arabian Peninsula and across a wide ocean on their way to the promised land (which was in the Americas).

Arriving at the Promised Land -by Arnold Friberg
Lehi didn't die until they had become firmly established in what is now Central America. As I mentioned several posts ago, before he died he gave blessings to each of his sons. Besides, Laman, Lemuel, Sam and Nephi, Lehi and his wife, Sariah, became the parents of two more sons, Jacob and Joseph, while still traveling eastward on the Arabian Peninsula to the seashore where through the Lord's guidance of Nephi a ship was built and they were guided to Central America.

I would like you to now to read the scripture found at the end of this paragraph to read the very significant blessing that Lehi gave to his youngest son, Joseph. I suggest you consider choosing the option to Listen as well as reading. II Nephi 3:1-25

Here are, as I see them, the key points Lehi made in his blessing of his youngest son, Joseph:

1. Lehi and his family are descendants of Joseph who was sold into Egypt.

2. The Lord promised Joseph that He, the Lord, would appear to Joseph's descendants in their promised land (Central America) after his death and resurrection.

3. The Lord promised to raise up a choice seer to help Lehi's descendants in the latter-days.

4. That seer would only do the work the Lord gave him to do.

5. That seer, would, like Moses, deliver his people Israel from bondage.

6. That seer would bring forth the Lord's word, the Book of Mormon which will confirm the truth of a first book of scriptures, the Bible.

7. Lehi told young Joseph that religious confusion would be stopped among his descendants in the last days, when those 2 scriptures are used together.

8. The Lord told that ancient Joseph that the efforts of others to destroy that seer would be prevented until that seer had finished his work.

9. That promised seer will also be named Joseph as will his father.

10. The work to be done by this promised seer will bring salvation to this ancient Joseph's descendants, and bring about the gathering of all Israel.

11. The Lord promised the ancient Joseph that his posterity would last forever.

12. The ancient Joseph's descendants' words shall "cry from the dust" to be heard by his descendants in the latter-days. The golden plates containing the Book of Mormon have done that.

According to what the Lord told Joseph who had been sold into Egypt, this mighty seer would become an instrument in the hands of God to bring much restoration to the House of Israel.

In my Blog Post 23 you were told how the Lord's angel, Moroni, personally prepared young Joseph Smith,Jr., son of Joseph Smith, Sr. to do the great work he had to do in translating the Book of Mormon, in preparation to the founding of the Lord's only true church on the earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Throughout these blog posts you have learned much about the Prophet Joseph Smith. Daniel Peterson in Post 8 (also in Post 4) in a You Tube video demonstrates that the Book of Mormon was actually translated by the gift of God by Joseph Smith.

The Book of Mormon is the word of God spoken of by Joseph who was sold into Egypt, before he died. He promised that this modern day Joseph would bring forth God's word which along with the Bible would stop religious confusion.

This blog post you are now reading really shows the tight bond between three Josephs, Joseph the Prophet who had been sold into Egypt, Lehi's son, Joseph and the latter-day prophet of God: Joseph Smith, Jr.

You have learned in earlier blogs how Joseph Smith, Jr. was prepared for the great work that Joseph who was sold into Egypt prophesied of as quoted by Father Lehi.

I will end this post by quoting again, as I did a number of blog posts ago, additional words of the Prophet Joseph Smith about whom the first Joseph prophesied from Egypt centuries ago and about whom Joseph, the sixth son of Lehi was told about.


Translation of the Book of Mormon Taking Place -by Del Parson
Joseph Smith's life mission was to significantly prepare the way for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joseph Smith was very successful in doing what the Lord wanted him to do in establishing His Church once again on the earth. However, he had to suffer much in the process.

When his father gave him a patriarchal blessing in which Joseph was told that he would be able to fulfill his mission on the earth fully before leaving this life, Joseph wept and asked if that were really to happen. His father assured him it would. That made Joseph very grateful.


Thanks, Joseph who was sold into Egypt, for your prophecies about the great work the Prophet Joseph Smith was to do, and thank you, Nephi, Son of Lehi, for recording this great information on your small plates.

Without the Book of Mormon which the Lord prepared Joseph Smith to translate and publish, through the sevice of the Angel Moroni, we would not have the blessings of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints numbers more than thirteen million members and is growing continually. It is led by a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, along with all of those who serve under and with him.

The following is just an example of the extreme tribulations the Prophet Joseph went through while working diligently to fulfill the work the Lord had given him to do.

“Chapter 19: Stand Fast through the Storms of Life,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),227–37

“Stand fast, ye Saints of God, hold on a little while longer, and the storm of life will be past, and you will be rewarded by that God whose servants you are.”

From the Life of Joseph Smith

On the night of March 24, 1832, Joseph Smith had stayed up late caring for his 11-month-old son, Joseph, who was sick with the measles. The Smith family was then living in the John Johnson home in Hiram, Ohio. The Prophet had finally gone to sleep on a trundle bed when a mob of a dozen or more men who had been drinking whiskey broke into the home. The Prophet later described the events of that terrible night:

“The mob burst open the door and surrounded the bed in an instant, and … the first I knew I was going out of the door in the hands of an infuriated mob. I made a desperate struggle, as I was forced out, to extricate myself, but only cleared one leg, with which I made a pass at one man, and he fell on the door steps. I was immediately overpowered again; and they swore … they would kill me if I did not be still, which quieted me. …
The Prophet Joseph Smith -by Alvin Gittins
“They then seized me by the throat and held on till I lost my breath. After I came to, as they passed along with me, about thirty rods from the house, I saw Elder Rigdon stretched out on the ground, whither they had dragged him by his heels. I supposed he was dead. I began to plead with them, saying, ‘You will have mercy and spare my life, I hope.’ To which they replied, ‘… Call on yer God for help, we’ll show ye no mercy.’ ”

After some discussion, the mob “concluded not to kill me,” the Prophet related, “but to beat and scratch me well, tear off my shirt and drawers, and leave me naked. … They ran back and fetched the bucket of tar, when one exclaimed, with an oath, ‘Let us tar up his mouth;’ and they tried to force the tar-paddle into my mouth; I twisted my head around, so that they could not; and they cried out, ‘… Hold up yer head and let us giv ye some tar.’ They then tried to force a vial into my mouth, and broke it in my teeth. All my clothes were torn off me except my shirt collar; and one man fell on me and scratched my body with his nails like a mad cat. …

“They then left me, and I attempted to rise, but fell again; I pulled the tar away from my lips, so that I could breathe more freely, and after a while I began to recover, and raised myself up, whereupon I saw two lights. I made my way towards one of them, and found it was Father Johnson’s. When I came to the door … the tar made me look as if I were covered with blood, and when my wife saw me she thought I was all crushed to pieces, and fainted. …

“My friends spent the night in scraping and removing the tar, and washing and cleansing my body; so that by morning I was ready to be clothed again.”

Even after this ordeal, the Prophet stood fast in carrying out his responsibilities to the Lord. The next day was the Sabbath. “The people assembled for meeting at the usual hour of worship,” the Prophet recorded, “and among them came also the mobbers. … With my flesh all scarified and defaced, I preached to the congregation as usual, and in the afternoon of the same day baptized three individuals.” Joseph and Emma’s son, Joseph, died five days after the mob attack as a result of being exposed to the cold night air while suffering from the measles.

Wilford Woodruff, the fourth President of the Church, said: “The Lord told Joseph that He would prove him, whether he would abide in His covenant or not, even unto death. He did prove him; and although [Joseph] had the whole world to contend against and the treachery of false friends to withstand, although his whole life was a scene of trouble and anxiety and care, yet, in all his afflictions, his imprisonments, the mobbings and ill treatment he passed through, he was ever true to his God.”


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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.





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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This BlogPost, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: (The)Three Josephs Each Proved Themselves Worthy . . . Post 27 When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

_____________


I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Post 26 - The Keystone of Our Religion is: The Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Father Lehi's Key Role in Bringing it About

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME


At God's Command Father Lehi Preached to People in Jerusalem -by Del Parson
In this Blog Post I have chosen to focus on Lehi.

There is no doubt about it, if Lehi had not made the decision that he made regarding following the very challenging commandment the Lord gave him to preach in Jerusalem, there would never have been a Book of Mormon.

If there were no Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, there would never have been the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because as the Prophet Joseph Smith said:
"The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion."
This is the way it is regarding good outcomes, whether it is with a whole nation such as the Nephite-Lamanite nation or with you and me. It all starts with someone (even though that person has imperfections) making right decisions (even though they might be very difficult to make.)

Hasn't that been your own personal experience? Think of positive things that have taken place in your life that came about because you made right decisions. Now don't let those wrong decisions you might have made keep you from remembering those right decisions you also made.

Now you will have the opportunity of reading Lehi's faithful son, Nephi's record of the circumstances his father found himself in. Please read: I Nephi 1:4-15 

I hoped that you noticed in verses 8-11 that Father Lehi saw the pre-mortal Jesus Christ. (by the way, we all had a pre-mortal life where we lived as spirit children of our Heavenly Father).

Please now read: I Nephi 1:18-20

Please note that the other Jews mocked Lehi's prophesying which included the coming of a Messiah (Jesus Christ), and also of the redemption of the world.

From what you have just read you have seen clear evidence of the Book of Mormon being truly Another Witness of Jesus Christ with Lehi being the testator.

You will now read what the Lord commanded Father Lehi to do and that Lehi, true to form, did what the Lord commanded him. I Nephi 2:1-18

I encourage you to read through all of the Book of I Nephi in your own personal copy of the Book of Mormon.

When you do so you will find that Father Lehi, after his great faith and courage, being human, found himself angry at the Lord because being out in a desert on the Arabian Peninsula he and all those with him were starving. Please click on this link: I Nephi 16:17-25

Through this difficult experience, Lehi repented and again, like perhaps each of us, learned from his difficult experiences. I am personally very grateful that the Lord, Jesus Christ has opened the way by atoning for my sins thus enabling Him that He has forgiven me.

Now skipping over many chapters which I hope you will read before long, I want to focus on some of Father Lehi's words that were recorded by Nephi that he spoke not too long before his death. First, please read this: II Nephi 2: 26-30

Then there were additional statements that Nephi recorded of the words of his father, Lehi. These show the great spiritual insights this great and good man developed.

II Nephi 2:11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
II Nephi 2:15 And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.
II Nephi 2:27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator (Jesus Christ) of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. (highlighted words in parenthesis added)
28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.
Those statements of Lehi from Nephi's record are great evidences that Lehi stayed faithful unto the end of his life.

His son, Nephi, after Lehi's death became the patriarch of the family. However, two of Nephi's older brothers, Laman and Lemuel chose not to follow their father's clear counsel and caused a significant division in the family. Nonetheless Father Lehi was a very significant factor in leading his family onward and upward, keeping careful records that would ultimately provide information the Prophet Mormon could record in his record which ultimately became "The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ" which is playing a very very important role in preparing the world for the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.

____________



TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This BlogPost, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: (The) Keystone of Our (LDS) Religion - Post 26) When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).


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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Post 25 - Serving Our Fellow Man

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME


The Good Samaritan -by Walter Rane
I would venture to guess that most of you blog viewers recognize this painting to be of the Good Samaritan Jesus told about after a lawyer had asked Him, "Who is my neighbor?" Please read Our Savior's story that answered the lawyer's question: Luke 10:25-37  

It should not be surprising to you regular readers of this blog, that in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, the principle of service to neighbors is taught as a principle that the Lord Jesus Christ would have all of us live, even before He was born in Bethlehem.

In about 124 BC a king of the Nephite Nation in ancient America, Benjamin, who was about to turn his kingdom over to his son, Mosiah, gathered all of his people from wherever they lived to the temple which was a religious edifice where events like this were held because of their strong religious beliefs.


King Benjamin Speaks to His People -by Gary L. Kapp
We are told in The Book of Mormon record of this event, that everyone came with their families and pitched their tents in front of the temple.

From the wall of the temple Benjamin could be easily seen as he delivered his address. The written words of his address were delivered by messengers of the king to each of the families present. Please read this important passage of scripture: Mosiah 4:6-27
Something as important as Jesus' teaching that we should serve our neighbors, most certainly should be an important part of His Church in our day. I refer you back to  review what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accomplished during the year, 2007 regarding humanitarian service throughout the world. It will be found in the General Conference talk of Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His talk is entitled: Who is My Neighbor? Post 20 of this blog

This following article was found in the Deseret News of Salt Lake City, Utah sometime ago. forgive me I lost the title of the article and the name of the author while upgrading this post on September 19, 2011.
Less than three weeks from when she was to enter the Provo Missionary Training Center prior to serving in the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission, Alma Rosa Nava and her family were among the 106 members of Lehi (Spanish) Branch, Friendswood Texas Stake, forced by Hurricane Ike to evacuate their Galveston Island homes and relocate inland.
With the College Station Texas Stake hosting the evacuees from its sister stake for a dozen days, Sister Nava approached Bryan 1st Ward Bishop David R. Durda with questions about her travel itinerary to Utah.

During the ensuing conversation, Bishop Durda learned Sister Nava had begun purchasing and setting aside clothes and supplies for her mission. But the rushed evacuation leading up to Hurricane Ike hitting southeastern Texas on Sept. 13 resulted in her having to leave her preparations behind.

Uncertain if Sister Nava's family would be able to return to their home prior to her mission starting on Oct. 1, sisters of the Bryan 1st Ward stepped in.

"They are Saints in every sense of that word and are angels to our people," said Friendswood Texas Stake President Jonathan S. Schmitt of the College Station Stake, which ended up housing more than 150 evacuees. "When the members learned of Alma's missionary service, they provided everything on her mission list to ensure she would be prepared to serve."

But the story doesn't end there; the charitable service went full circle. In appreciation for the unsolicited assistance, Sister Nava's family found ways to reciprocate.

"The family wanted to provide service--they wanted to give back," said Lehi Branch President J. Thomas Westergard, with the Navas helping with housecleaning and other tasks in Bryan before departing.

"They gave service back," said Bishop Durda, "All of the Galveston members were very self-reliant,"
I Neil Birch include these matters regarding how we should show love to one another by being Good Samaritans as described by our Savior Jesus Christ in the scripture I provided you earlier in this post.

Jesus showed His love for us by suffering and dieing for us, so that we each may begin living this principle more fully than we perhaps have done in the past.

Again, the great service rendered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to those in need, to non-members and members alike, is evidence that it is His true church. I want each of you readers to know that I know this church is directed in our day by living prophets who are led directly by Him through the power of Prophecy and Revelation. I also know the Book of Mormon was brought about by and is authorized by Jesus Christ. I know these things by the witness of the Holy Ghost to me on many occasions during my 76 (almost 80 now) years of life.

Also you can know the truthfulness of these things by following the counsel given by the last Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni. Please read his words:
Moroni 10: 3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
If you don't yet have your own copy of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, please e-mail me and I will help you arrange to have your own copy to read.

____________


DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.

____________
 
TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This BlogPost, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other BlogPost You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: Serving Our Fellow Man - Post 25. When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).

____________


"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch

____________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch